Punt guns are extremely large shotguns that were used in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries for shooting large numbers of waterfowl during commercial harvesting operations (also called “market hunting”). Punt guns have barrel bore diameters that typically are two inches or greater, and usually fire over a pound of shot at a time. Punt guns were often several feet in length, and weighed a great deal (e.g., 75 pounds or greater) relative to conventional shotguns. Since punt guns were so large, and their recoil was so great, the guns were usually mounted directly on “punt” boats, which is where their name originated. Punt boats were long, flat-bottomed boats that were designed for use in small rivers or other shallow water, and typically were propelled with a long pole. In the U.S., the practice of using punt guns through the 1800s dramatically depleted the stocks of wild waterfowl, and by the 1860s most states had banned their use for waterfowl hunting. A series of federal laws banned the practice of market hunting in the early 1900s.